28-year time lapse shows Earth's drastic changes (pictures)

Brazilian Amazon deforestation

Using annual Landsat satellite imagery captured since 1984, Google has created dramatic composites depicting our changing world, the death and growth of natural lands, and humans' impact on the landscape.

The animated GIFs show development and destruction pulsing like a living being, with forests receding, water evaporating, and cities growing. Las Vegas crawls across the desert and construction is booming, while the Brazilian Amazon rainforest, seen here, and glaciers disappear before your eyes.